From "Dr. Helen" and Michelle Malkin...

This is a discussion on From "Dr. Helen" and Michelle Malkin... within the The Second Amendment & Gun Legislation Discussion forums, part of the Related Topics category; "To get things started, I will ask and answer the first question—it is an important one: “What kinds of things should an adult be able ...

From "Dr. Helen" and Michelle Malkin...

"To get things started, I will ask and answer the first question—it is an important one: “What kinds of things should an adult be able to do?” I have thought about this question since reading this famous Heinlein quote:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

On Dr. Helen’s list: Drive a stick shift (check!), give a good backrub (check!), and understand and be able to use a basic handgun (check!)."

You know you’re getting good medicine when you’ve got an advice columnist who supports the Second Amendment.

A few of my own additions to the list of what every adult should be able to do:

Clean a fish.
Change a tire.
Snell a hook.
French-braid hair.
Fold an American flag properly.

What should a young male of 21 know, and what should he be able to do? There are no conclusive answers to those questions, but they are certainly worth asking. A young man should know how this country is run and how it got that way. He should know the Federalist Papers and de Tocqueville, and he should know recent world history. If he does not know what has been tried in the past, he cannot very well avoid those pitfalls as they come up in the future. A young man should be computer literate and, moreover, should know Hemingway from James Joyce. He should know how to drive a car well–such as is not covered in Driver’s Ed. He should know how to fly a light airplane. He should know how to shoot well. He should know elementary geography, both worldwide and local. He should have a cursory knowledge of both zoology and botany. He should know the fundamentals of agriculture and corporate economy. He should be well qualified in armed combat, boxing, wrestling and judo, or its equivalent. He should know how to manage a motorcycle. He should be comfortable in at least one foreign language, more if appropriate to his background. He should be familiar with remedial medicine. These things should be accomplished before a son leaves his father’s household.